Where Broken Hearts Mend
by VTPM
Summary: (Title inspired by lyrics from The End Is Where We Begin by Thousand Foot Krutch) [AU] The Eye of the Moon plan is near completion, but what happens when Obito discovers the truth behind Madara's intentions?


(/A/N: As said in the description, this is an AU [alternate universe], so don't be too surprised if things aren't exactly the same as the anime. Also, sorry if I don't remember exactly what characters said at the beginning for the story's setup; I have a terrible memory, so try not to be too upset if I get dialogue wrong, I'll try to keep it as accurate as I can or at least keep the main focus of the conversation until the original part of the story starts up. Regardless, I hope you enjoy this story.)

Kakashi stared in complete shock, feeling so many conflicting emotions inside at what he was seeing now that the white mask lay shattered on the ground. Finally he found his voice.

"Obito..? Is that really you..?"

The man gave no response and just stared at him, his eyes devoid of emotion.

"Obito? But I thought you died!" Guy said, looking confused as well.

Naruto blinked in confusion and looked over at the two men. "Kakashi-sensei, who is he?"

"He was a student who attended the academy with us." Guy replied.

Kakashi wasn't paying attention to them at the moment, far too caught up staring in disbelief at his comrade he had assumed was dead long ago.

The masked man's Sharingan suddenly changed, and Kakashi knew he could be no other. "There's no mistaking that's him..."

Finally Obito spoke, "Call me that if you want. My name doesn't mean anything."

"Why didn't you come forward sooner?" Kakashi demanded. It had been so, so long; he had plenty of time to reveal himself, and yet he hadn't. But why..?

"Whether or not I survived was irrelevant. But, if you truly want an answer... It was because... You let Rin... Die." Obito said, pausing to either let the words sink in to the numb mind of his former teammate, or simply because the words were difficult for him to say.

The white haired ninja wasn't sure what to say, though he was snapped out of it by Naruto yelling, "Hey sensei! I don't know what happened between you and that guy, but now's no time to be getting depressed!"

Guy nodded and turned to Kakashi as well. "Naruto's right! We have to stop him!"

"We can't let him get away with this." Naruto said, though his attention was soon directed back to where Obito stood, as something struck the ground and kicked up a large cloud of dust. Once it settled, a man with long black hair and crack-like marks on his face stood next to Obito, the Uchiha symbol on the back of his shirt.

The man gave the three ninja in front of him a thoughtful look. "The Nine-Tails Jinchuuriki... Of course you would be here..." He murmured to himself.

Obito cast a him a sideways glance. "How much longer until the plan is ready to be finished, Madara?"

"It will be soon. Then our dream world will be created."

Two other ninja ran toward the group of three then. Kakashi managed to make himself glance back at who was approaching from behind them and found himself surprised again. "Sensei..?"

Guy had turned to see as well and grinned a little. "And it's Bee too!"

A few heart beats after he said that, the reanimated Minato and Killer Bee stopped next to them, looking up at the enemy, though Minato stiffened in shocked.

 _Is that... Obito..?_

Kakashi noticed his reaction and nodded to him. "He's been alive all this time, and has been pulling the strings of this war with Madara the entire time..."

"Why..?" Minato said quietly, then louder so Obito could hear. "Why are you doing this?"

Before Obito could respond, Madara quickly said, "That doesn't matter. All that matters is that this world will soon disappear."

"I can speak for myself..." Obito told him warningly, clear irritated that the older Uchiha was speaking on his behalf.

"We are wasting time." Madara replied calmly, avoiding the subject.

"No, let him speak. The Obito I know would never be doing something like this. I deserve to know what happened to make my student want to do this." Minato said to Madara, before switching his gaze to Obito. "Please, do explain."

"Obito, you owe them nothing." Madara growled.

The scarred man remained silent for a moment before turning to Minato. "Why not explain? You'll know soon enough when the Eye of the Moon plan succeeds anyways."

Madara looked frustrated at that, though held his tongue, knowing arguing would get them nowhere. "Just make it quick..."

Obito shot him another irritated look, though Madara ignored it. He returned his gaze to Minato and Kakashi; he didn't care about the other three. They were nothing to him.

"You want to know what made me like this..? It was this world; this cursed reality. It's too cruel. It's imperfect. It's a world that does too much taking away. This world took Rin away. Madara promised me he can make a world perfect for everyone, where there's no lies, no chaos, no war... Where there will only be peace, prosperity, happiness.. A world where the dead are alive again! Doesn't that sound worth it? Those who remain tied to this reality like you are can remain dead if they want, but those who wish to live in this perfect world can and will."

Minato could only stare at him. He really believed his own words. He really believed Madara was going to make a haven for everyone to live in. He truly trusted Madara...

"Are you satisfied with your explanation? Now, to make this reality disappear..." Madara said, grinning.

Minato shook his head and took a step forward. "Wait.. Obito, how do you know Madara can even do this?"

"It's already nearly complete." Obito replied bluntly.

"But is this what you really want..?"

He hesitated before saying, "This cruel world killed Rin... I will make a world where she will never suffer such a fate again." Images of the brown haired girl surged forward in his mind for what must have been the millionth time.

 _"Go for it Obito! Become Hokage and show me how you'll save this world! That's another promise!"_

 _I'm sorry Rin... I can't keep that promise... This world just can't be saved..._

"You can't do that... This world you want to create isn't possible to exist... There's no such thing as a world where everyone is happy... There cannot be happiness without heartache.. It's not going to be what you think it'll be, Obito." Minato insisted.

Movement in the corner of his eye caught Obito's attention and he looked down to see a white Zetsu clone pass through the ground and stand next to him. "He's right..." It said quietly, giving Madara a timid glance.

"Silence, or else! I swear if you say anything, I will end your pathetic existence!" Madara snarled.

The clone flinched, but looked back up at Obito. "It wasn't just this world that killed Rin..."

"I said silence!" Madara yelled, throwing kunai at the creature.

It ducked under the weapons and gave Obito a guilty look. "Madara had her killed... He set the whole thing up..."

Obito froze at that. "What..?"

The Zetsu clone shrunk back a little. "He put a seal on her heart... He knew you'd go and see Kakashi kill her... He knew it would be enough to make you follow his dream plan... He knew you would follow him blindly in rage and grief..."

"...And how long have you known this..?"

"...From the very beginning... We didn't have a choice... He would have killed us..." The clone said near-silently.

Obito clenched his fists. White One and Swirly had both lied to him. They were his friends, they helped him recover from being crushed in the rock slide, they were always there to help him, they tried to help him save Rin-

But that was a lie. They knew Madara's plan the entire time. They weren't helping him. They were helping Madara. He had trusted them. But in the end, it seemed they didn't really care, did they? Yes, they had seemed sad when he came back changed, but they should have said something instead of letting him fall into Madara's hands.

A part of him wanted to kill the clone, rip it to shreds, but he knew he would gain nothing from that.

Minato spoke again, "Obito, the world Madara will make is perfect for him, not for you or anyone else. He's using you to create a world he will rule!"

"That isn't true! We're partners in this plan! You will get everything I have promised you!" Madara insisted.

Obito looked the Uchiha right in the eyes. "Did you set Rin up to be killed..?"

"I did what was necessary for the dream world." Madara replied.

"Did you kill Rin?" He pressed, louder this time.

"Yes. I knew it was the only way to motivate you to help me. Besides, she will be brought back to life."

Obito didn't respond to him. Madara was behind all of this all along... But it was still this reality that had Madara do that. The dream world could still exist, it could still be better-

"Don't you see Obito? A world made by Madara, who was willing to do such a thing to you, is not a place you would want to live.. It's complete madness!" Kakashi said. "Just give this up already. It's not too late to stop this."

 _Can Madara's world really be any worse than this one..?_ Obito thought to himself. More images flashed in his mind of Rin, who was always so positive, so kind to him when no one else was, his only friend for the longest time-

Yes, perfect was the only way to describe her. And this world had taken her away...

 _"Show me how you'll save this world! That's another promise!"_

But, wasn't it also the world that created her..?

"Obito, listen to me!" Minato called out to him. "I know Madara's words are promising and hopeful sounding, but he won't keep true to them! He's only using you! I'm sorry I wasn't there for you... I'm sorry you went through so much pain... I wish I had realized it was you that day you attacked the village... But I promise you, you never stopped being my student! I always cared for you, and I still do... Please, don't go through with this.. You'll regret it.."

"Don't listen to him! Don't you want to be with Rin again? I can do that for you.." Madara promised.

It was tempting... Madara's words were always so inviting... But he had killed Rin.. That was unforgivable.. But still... It had been by Kakashi's hand that she died... And he'd dug himself far too deep into this... Now that he thought about it, the only outcome for him now was death, wasn't it? If Madara succeeded, he would either be killed in battle for him, against him, or by him once the world was created.. And if Madara failed, again, he would be either killed in battle or by his sensei and teammate... After all, no one would forgive him for all the lives he'd taken, whether he decided to help them take Madara down or not... There was nothing he could do with a good outcome for him..

But that was the selfish way to think. He needed to think about what would be best for everyone. Madara's world, or this imperfect one. Who did he trust more? Madara, who had saved his life, but manipulated him or his sensei and teammate who had let Rin die, though had taught him so much and been good company for him in his earlier years?

 _I don't know what to do... I can't make this decision on my own, but who can I ask..?_

The answer hit him almost immediately.

 _Rin... What would Rin do..?_

 _The brown haired girl gave him a serious look as she bandaged his hand. "It's one thing to act tough, but you shouldn't hide your wounds."_

 _Obito couldn't help but feel his eyes water up and he nodded to her. "Okay, okay!"_

 _She smiled warmly at him, just as she had so many times before. "Good. Now come on the others are waiting."_

 _"Right! I'll make Hokage yet!" Obito said, grinning again. Rin always manged to cheer him up._

 _Rin nodded in approval and grinned wider. "Go for it Obito! Become Hokage and show me how you'll save the world! That's another promise! Now let's go!" Rin quickly grabbed his hand and pulled him along behind her over to where Minato and Kakashi were waiting..._

 _"Show me how you'll save the world! That's another promise!"_

 _Rin... She loved this world, despite all its imperfections... And._. Obito looked over at Minato and Kakashi, especially the latter. _She loved the people in this world... She wouldn't want me to destroy it, not even for a perfect world, not even to be alive again, not even to be with Kakashi, sensei, or me... That's just who she was... She wants me to save this world... That's just what I'll have to do, won't I..?_

Obito looked over at Madara, feeling the grief twisting at his heart, but also the burning determination to keep his promise to Rin. He still had his doubts, but then he remembered, _She was so kind and smart, and she always wanted what was best for everyone... She wasn't selfish like me... She would want the world to be saved, and she wouldn't be wrong..._

"I am grateful that you saved my life, Madara.. And I thank you. But returning to you, and helping your plan was a grave mistake... You took advantage of my twisted and broken mental state and filled me with false hopeful words.. Rin loved this world with all her heart, as well as the people in it. She would not have it destroyed, not even for a chance to live again. She knows what is right, and saving this world is just that. This is the end of our partnership. Your perfect world cannot come to exist..."

(A/N: Well, that's all for now, I'll try to update soon though!)


End file.
